John Travolta

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q80938: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as actor. The films the hosts said they acted in, which the two lists below run through too: Carrie (1976); The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976); Saturday Night Fever (1977); Grease (1978); Urban Cowboy (1980); Blow Out (1981); Staying Alive (1983); Look Who's Talking (1989); The Experts (1989); Shout (1991); Pulp Fiction (1994); Get Shorty (1995); White Man's Burden (1995); Michael (1996); Phenomenon (1996); Face/Off (1997); A Civil Action (1998); Lucky Numbers (2000); Domestic Disturbance (2001); Swordfish (2001); Basic (2003); Hairspray (2007); Wild Hogs (2007); Bolt (2008); Old Dogs (2009); Michael (2026); Battlefield Earth; Be Cool; Broken Arrow; Primary Colors; That's Amore; The General's Daughter; The People v. O.J. Simpson; Welcome Back, Kotter. Count them as director (1 film), craft (1 film) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Harold Ramis: 2 lines

unmapped (autobiographical) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Harold Ramis ⇒ Look Who's Talking (the host's read). The speakers say the film is Heckerling's personal grievance about Ramis, who fathered her daughter Molly while Neil Israel believed the child was his.
“The child that Neil Israel thought was his own was actually the byproduct of a years-long affair that she had had with Harold Ramos.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:24:44 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
unmapped (roman a clef) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Harold Ramis ⇒ Look Who's Talking (the host's read). Kirstie Alley's character Molly shares a name with Heckerling's daughter and echoes Ramis's leave-my-wife promise.
“Kirsty Alli's character is named Molly. Amy Heckerling and Harold Ramos's illegitimate daughter is named Molly.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:21:13 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Saturday Night Fever (1977): 2 lines, within their own work

lineage (lineage) · through Staying Alive (1983), which they acted in: Saturday Night Fever ⇒ Staying Alive (the host's read). The sequel; the hosts agree it is a bad one but Simmons is glad it exists and thinks it did not ruin the original.
“I'm glad it exists.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 1:17:52 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast) · through Staying Alive (1983), which they acted in: Saturday Night Fever ⇒ Staying Alive (the host's read). Staying Alive is so different that it did not ruin the original the way most sequels would.
“it's just so different from Saturday Night Fever that it didn't ruin it in the same way most sequels would.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 1:18:06 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Deliverance (1972): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Deliverance ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). The pawn shop sequence is inspired by Deliverance and transplants a Tennessee 1974 pawn shop to Hollywood.
“It's not just that he's inspired by deliverance.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:41:44 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Fatal Attraction (1987): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Domestic Disturbance (2001), which they acted in: Fatal Attraction ⇒ Domestic Disturbance (the host's read). Domestic Disturbance is the late, bad entry in the 'from hell' thriller cycle that began with Fatal Attraction.
“We had this really good run that starts with fatal fatal attraction into the 80s.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:04:54 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Joe Dante: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Joe Dante ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). Monster Joe's truck and tow is named after Joe Dante, whom Tarantino interviewed in the 80s.
“Apparently named after Joe Dante, director of Gremlins”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:06:41 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Kiss Me Deadly ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). The briefcase is an overt mimic of the Kiss Me Deadly briefcase, a metaphor for danger.
“It's interesting because it is such an overt mimic of the Kiss Me Deadly briefcase”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:23:29 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Lee Majors: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Lee Majors ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). The setup of Vincent taking the boss's wife out echoes a Hollywood story about Lee Majors asking someone to take Farrah Fawcett out while he was away.
“Because Lee Majors is going out of town.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:09:49 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)

Nik Cohn: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Saturday Night Fever (1977), which they acted in: Nik Cohn ⇒ Saturday Night Fever (the host's read). The film comes from a 1976 New York magazine article, later admitted to be mostly fabricated.
“this article written by Nick Cohen”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:17:23 · Bill Simmons (0.85 sure it was them)

Old Yeller (1957): 1 line

theme (theme) · through Old Dogs (2009), which they acted in: Old Yeller ⇒ Old Dogs (the host's read). Giving Charlie a new puppy after his old dog dies echoes the end of Old Yeller.
“That's what happens at the end of Old Yeller, remember?”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:40:01 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Ransom (1996): 1 line

craft (craft) · through Domestic Disturbance (2001), which they acted in: Ransom ⇒ Domestic Disturbance (the host's read). Travolta tries to get mean like Mel Gibson in Ransom but lacks that gear.
“he's trying to do like Mel Gibson and Ransom, but he just does not have that gear at all.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:54:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Reservoir Dogs (1992): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Reservoir Dogs ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). Pulp's opening two-song credits echo the radio dial concept from Reservoir Dogs.
“Well, the radio, the concept of the radio had been in Reservoir Dogs, but I think switching the songs in the middle, because you hear him change the dial.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:04:26 · Sean Fennessey (0.35 sure it was them)

Shaft (1971): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Shaft ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). Bad motherfucker wallet reference to the Shaft theme.
“It was a reference to the theme song of Shaft.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:55:45 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

The Stepfather: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Domestic Disturbance (2001), which they acted in: The Stepfather ⇒ Domestic Disturbance (the host's read). Domestic Disturbance is a stepfather-from-hell movie, a premise already done by The Stepfather.
“Which, by the way, we'd already done with the stepfather with Terry Quinn.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:07:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Wild Hogs (2007): 1 line, within their own work

career (career) · through Old Dogs (2009), which they acted in: Wild Hogs ⇒ Old Dogs (the host's read). Wild Hogs was a huge 2007 hit, which is how Becker came to have the freedom to make Old Dogs.
“Becker has what you could perhaps call a blank check to make whatever crazy passion projects he wants.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 0:10:28 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Staying Alive (1983): 2 lines, within their own work

lineage (lineage) · through Saturday Night Fever (1977), which they acted in: Saturday Night Fever ⇒ Staying Alive (the host's read). The sequel; the hosts agree it is a bad one but Simmons is glad it exists and thinks it did not ruin the original.
“I'm glad it exists.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 1:17:52 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast) · through Saturday Night Fever (1977), which they acted in: Saturday Night Fever ⇒ Staying Alive (the host's read). Staying Alive is so different that it did not ruin the original the way most sequels would.
“it's just so different from Saturday Night Fever that it didn't ruin it in the same way most sequels would.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 1:18:06 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Airplane! (1980): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Saturday Night Fever (1977), which they acted in: Saturday Night Fever ⇒ Airplane! (the host's read). Airplane! parodies this film's romance scene three years later with Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty.
“The airplane parody scene.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:50:19 · Jimmy Kimmel (0.50 sure it was them)

Baby's Day Out (1994): 1 line

lineage (influence) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Look Who's Talking ⇒ Baby's Day Out (the host's read). The baby-escapes-in-a-towed-car sequence is claimed as the origin of Baby's Day Out.
“I feel like that entire, like the entirety of like baby's day out is based on that sequence in this movie.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 2:00:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Captain Marvel (2019): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read). Samuel L. Jackson driving around mid-90s Los Angeles evokes Jules Winfield, a clever but surface 90s nod.
“a Samuel L. Jackson character in the mid 90s driving around in a car in Los Angeles, a la Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction.”
The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:18:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Clueless (1995): 1 line

career (career enabler) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Look Who's Talking ⇒ Clueless (the host's read). The hit rescued Heckerling's career and so gave us Clueless.
“she kind of rescued her entire career, and because of that, we get clueless”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:51:18 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Fighting with My Family (2019): 1 line

craft (craft) · through Saturday Night Fever (1977), which they acted in: Saturday Night Fever ⇒ Fighting with My Family (the maker said so: Merchant in this interview). Merchant treats the wrestling matches like the dance numbers in Saturday Night Fever, each with different moves building to a big finale.
“the way that the wrestling sequences are almost little dance numbers.”
The Big Picture · Pro Wrestling Goes to the Movies, Plus Stephen Merchant on ‘Fighting With My Family’ | Interview (Ep. 130) · 0:47:51 · Stephen Merchant (0.95 sure it was them)

Friday the 13th (1980): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Carrie (1976), which they acted in: Carrie ⇒ Friday the 13th (the host's read). The final-scene jump scare is directly influenced by the hand coming out of the grave in Carrie.
“it's directly like influenced by Carrie, right?”
The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:43:46 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Jessica Bendinger: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Grease (1978), which they acted in: Grease ⇒ Jessica Bendinger (the host's read). Bendinger names Grease, Risky Business and Fast Times as the teen classics she grew up on.
“But before that, it was Greece was probably the biggest, you know, cultural phenomenon, then Risky Business and Fast Times, of course.”
The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:11:13 · Jessica Bendinger (0.85 sure it was them)

Look Who's Talking Too (1990): 1 line

lineage (sequel) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Look Who's Talking ⇒ Look Who's Talking Too (the host's read). The sequel keeps Willis, adds Roseanne for Joan Rivers, Damon Wayans, and Mel Brooks as Mr. Toilet.
“Roseanne Barr replaces Joan Rivers.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 2:18:01 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Mad Magazine's Saturday Night Fever parody: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Saturday Night Fever (1977), which they acted in: Saturday Night Fever ⇒ Mad Magazine's Saturday Night Fever parody (the host's read). Kimmel says he read the Mad parody before he saw the movie.
“I think maybe I probably read the parody of the movie before I saw the movie.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:50:52 · Jimmy Kimmel (0.80 sure it was them)

Misery (1990): 1 line

programming (programming) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Misery (the host's read). Butch's Girlfriend Award for weak link of the film is borrowed from Pulp Fiction.
“The Butch's girlfriend Award, Butch's girlfriend from Pulp Fiction.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:59:07 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

Old Dogs (2009): 1 line, within their own work

career (career) · through Wild Hogs (2007), which they acted in: Wild Hogs ⇒ Old Dogs (the host's read). Wild Hogs was a huge 2007 hit, which is how Becker came to have the freedom to make Old Dogs.
“Becker has what you could perhaps call a blank check to make whatever crazy passion projects he wants.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 0:10:28 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (the host's read). Marcellus's you-pride-only-hurts speech to Butch is the same speech Pacino gives DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
“And it's the same speech that Pacino gives DiCaprio at Rousseau and Frank in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:17:32 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Pulp Fiction imitators: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Pulp Fiction imitators (the host's read). The Royale-in-Paris, Amsterdam conversation is the most parodied and copied stretch of screenwriting of the last 30 years.
“Yeah. I would argue this is the most ripped off four and a half minutes of screenwriting in the past 30 years.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:06:07 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)

Samuel L. Jackson: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Samuel L. Jackson (the host's read). Nick Fury's diner scene is described as a try at a Tarantino diner, with Jules-style rhythm.
“I'm trying to do some like fucking Tarantino diner scene.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 1:05:14 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Station Eleven (2021): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Station Eleven (the host's read). Time-shifting storytelling that Pulp put front and center is still used in current TV.
“Yeah, it's like still showing up in like station 11.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:08:39 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Craft (1) everyone in craft

dance choreography (added the surf, the Batman and other dances to the twist), Pulp Fiction (The Rewatchables, ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey)

What was said about them, by kind

career (16)

career (career arc): John Travolta → Matthew McConaughey. Travolta was never in the wilderness; he was like pre-McConaissance McConaughey, a bankable rom-com star not respected.
“I think it is closer to pre-ma connaissance, Matthew McConaughey.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:26:52 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction in 1994 began a heater of three to four major movies a year through 2000.
“He's on a heater from Pulp Fiction 94 through 2000.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:22:51 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Battlefield Earth. Travolta's slide is dated to Battlefield Earth, with this movie as backwash.
“This is the sort of backwash of Battlefield Earth.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:23:13 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → The General's Daughter. The General's Daughter is where Travolta's run starts to go bad, in one speaker's view.
“I would say general, it starts with general's daughter, which is also not good.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:23:34 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Tom Hanks. In the late 90s Travolta was the backup choice to Hanks for many roles.
“he was kind of the backup choice to Hanks for a lot of different roles.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:32:56 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Nick Cage. For a stretch Travolta and Nick Cage were the two biggest action stars.
“he and Nick Cage are the 2 biggest action stars in the world.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:33:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Michael Madsen → John Travolta. Madsen's 90s roles overlapped with the ones Travolta was getting.
“Also in the 90s for him, a lot of his roles to me intersected with roles that Travolta was getting.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Species’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:06:19 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Saturday Night Fever. Travolta added surf, Batman and other late-50s/early-60s dances to the twist scene from his own memory; the dance scene would be stupid in any other movie.
“So that's why he introduced like the surf wave and the Batman dance and all this other stuff because he was like, I remember the late 50s, early 60s dances.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:30:27 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Saturday Night Fever. Travolta's apex is Saturday Night Fever, since 70s stardom was bigger, like Stallone and Rocky.
“I think it's Saturday Night Fever.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:00:54 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Cop Land. Movie stars playing non-star roles at a career inflection point, Travolta like Stallone in Cop Land.
“I thought the Travolta stuff is very similar to the Stallone and Koplin.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:42:03 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Simmons traces Travolta's path from the TV movie to Kotter to this film.
“Boy in the plastic bubble.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:14:03 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Welcome Back, Kotter. Before the movie Travolta was a TV star; Welcome Back Kotter was the show everybody watched.
“everybody wanted to be Vinnie Barbarino”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:15:07 · Jimmy Kimmel (0.80 sure it was them)
career (career): Robert Stigwood → John Travolta. Stigwood spotted Travolta and signed him to a three-film deal.
“Stigwood's like, that guy's a movie star signs him to a 3 film deal.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:17:18 · Bill Simmons (0.85 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Burt Reynolds. Simmons argues Travolta was a bigger star than Burt Reynolds because of better movies.
“Burt Reynolds also felt huge.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:18:24 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Grease. Simmons names Grease, not Saturday Night Fever, as Travolta's apex mountain.
“I would actually say Greece was probably his apex mountain because Greece follows Saturday Fever.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 1:09:21 · Bill Simmons (0.85 sure it was them)
career (career): John Travolta → Robin Williams. Both came out of 1970s sitcoms and rose to be movie stars, hence the Old Dogs pairing.
“Coming out of sitcoms in the 70s and then ascending to become major movie stars and everything.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 0:14:47 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

contrast (2)

contrast (pilot contrast): John Travolta → Harrison Ford. Travolta dresses as a pilot while Ford flies small crashable planes.
“unlike Harrison Ford when Travolta flies planes, he wears a little pilot outfit.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 1:44:57 · Hillary Busis (0.40 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): John Travolta → Channing Tatum. Magic Mike is the closest modern equivalent to the frenzy Travolta caused: an unknown whose dancing drove women crazy.
“the closest thing to it from like the current era is Magic Mike.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:31:19 · Jimmy Kimmel (0.55 sure it was them)

craft (2)

craft (craft): John Travolta → Spider-Man 3. Travolta's drugged, lopsided face is likened to Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3.
“Travolta's got, like, Topher Gray Spider Man 3 face.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:12:04 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
craft (craft): John Travolta → Batman (the Joker). The digital facial-palsy effect is called Joker face and compared to a Batman villain.
“He's fully jokerified.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:13:56 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

industry (1)

industry (industry): Jonathan D. Krane → John Travolta. The producer was Travolta's manager for years, and any movie listing him as producer is not big.
“he was Travolta's manager from 78 or from maybe 1988 through 2004”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:07:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

people (5)

people (bad performance): Hairspray → John Travolta. Hairspray is nearly perfect except for one radioactive performance, Travolta's.
“I think that movie is like a 9.8 out of 10. And then it has one radioactive performance.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:06:58 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
people (peak performance): Get Shorty → John Travolta. The speaker calls Get Shorty their favorite Travolta movie-star performance, quiet and controlled.
“I do think that is my single favorite Travolta movie star performance.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:57:48 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
people (people): Kelly Preston → John Travolta. Preston, Travolta's real wife, plays Robin Williams' love interest, and Travolta's real daughter plays her daughter.
“Kelly Preston, uh, famously, uh, uh, wife of John Travolta, absolutely.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 0:21:08 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
people (people): Robin Williams → John Travolta. The pair were Mork and Barbarino and were long asked when they would make a movie together.
“No, no, it was it was Mork and Barbarino.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:06:27 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
people (people): John Travolta → Robin Williams. Compared to Spielberg and Cruise: fans waited decades for them to team up.
“It was like Spielberg and Cruz.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:06:33 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

unmapped (2)

unmapped (meet-cute guess): John Travolta → Kelly Preston. Preston is in Two of a Kind, so the speakers guess that is where they met.
“That film has Kelly Preston in it. So my guess is where they met.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:53:23 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
unmapped (anecdote): John Travolta → Good Times. Kimmel gave Travolta the other piece of original Good Times artwork on Travolta's first appearance on his show.
“I gave him the other piece of artwork.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 1:23:16 · Jimmy Kimmel (0.85 sure it was them)

verdict (1)

verdict (verdict): Robin Williams → John Travolta. One speaker says Williams is far funnier than Travolta in the film.
“Williams is like 10 times funnier than Travolta in this movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:08:48 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

what-if (5)

what-if (what-if): John Travolta → Vince Vaughn. Casting what-if: Travolta as the villain and Vaughn as the nice first dad would be a better movie.
“I had, uh, Trivoltan Bond, which part's better movie.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:11:47 · Craig Horlbeck (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Tom Cruise → John Travolta. Cruise in the Travolta role, or Hanks against type; the speakers say Travolta is playing a Cruise part.
“Travolta's playing a cruise part.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:21:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): John Travolta → Pulp Fiction. If Travolta had starred in The Player, the Pulp Fiction comeback might have gone differently, and Bill is glad it did not happen.
“It's a really interesting Travolta sliding doors.”
The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 1:13:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): John Travolta → Annie Hall. Kimmel would have given the Oscar to Travolta; Kimmel says Woody Allen deserved it for Annie Hall.
“Woody Allen should have won”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:23:54 · Jimmy Kimmel (0.70 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): John Travolta → Al Pacino. Simmons wonders whether a very young Pacino could have done the opening walk.
“maybe Al Pacino, as a very young man, could, but he's not even that...”
The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:31:05 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

fun, about John Travolta: Griffin's mother described Travolta as bovine; she meant the face, not the size.
“I think his face looks like the face of a cow.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:08:26 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about John Travolta: Travolta's directorial debut: a 62-minute movie about the first time he flew on a plane; the speaker saw him wear a beret to every Cannes screening.
“he wore a beret to every single screening of the film.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:26:05 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about John Travolta: Why the paycheck movies: owning a private plane means doing five a year.
“when your aspiration becomes to have your own private plane that you can fly around, you just start taking paycheck movies.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:27:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about John Travolta: Travolta is Sam Darnold: can win three games with him, or a Super Bowl with the right coach.
“Travolta is Sam Darnold.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Domestic Disturbance’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:32:23 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about John Travolta: To understand heroin Travolta spoke to a recovering addict, then drank tequila in a hot tub with Kelly Preston.
“They drank tequila and lay in a hot tub, try to figure it out.”
The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:56:53 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
fun, about John Travolta: Charlie's magic hobby is set up by the fire trick and then dropped for the rest of the film.
“He never once chose any affinity for magic over... the rest of the running time for the film.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 0:44:43 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
fun, about John Travolta: The fire-from-the-hands moment: Griffin insists Charlie can really conjure fire, since nothing disproves it.
“Charlie has the ability to conjure fire with his bare hands.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 0:45:25 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
fun, about John Travolta: Travolta's Joker face after the mixed-up pills is a digital effect.
“His Joker face is digital.”
Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:14:49 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)